Art and Gender: Market Bias or Selection Bias?

Abstract

We test for gender effects in the art market using auction prices for artists who graduated from the Yale School of Art. Yale’s female graduates have significantly fewer auction sales, controlling for their graduating year gender ratio. Conditioning upon sale, works by female artists obtained higher average prices. The results suggest that, while institutions and career paths may condition on gender, the market may not.

JEL Classification: Z11, J16